Washington lobbyist David Jolly has already declared his support for the Republican Ryan Budget that ends the Medicare guarantee and raises seniors’ costs while handing out millions of tax dollars to the wealthiest few – but new footage shows Tallahassee Representative Kathleen Peters is refusing to answer where she stands on this critical litmus test for Republicans as they face off in their divisive and costly primary.

“Washington lobbyist David Jolly has already declared his support for the Ryan Budget that ends the Medicare guarantee and raises costs on seniors while spending tax dollars on handouts to the wealthiest few – now Kathleen Peters must answer this critical Republican litmus test instead of running away from Pinellas voters,” said David Bergstein of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “With Peters’ and Jolly’s Republican Congress hurtling our country toward another dysfunctional showdown over the budget, Peters must answer where stands on Ryan’s plan as she and Jolly continue their costly and divisive primary battle.”

BACKGROUND:

David Jolly: “A Lot of Good in the Ryan Budget.” In December 2013, Jolly told Bay News 9’s Political Connections: “I think there was lot of good in the Ryan budget.” [Bay News 9 Political Connections, 12/08/13]

Kathleen Peters Refused to Say if She Supported Ryan Budget. In December 2013, Peters refused to answer if she supported Paul Ryan’s budget proposal. [FL13RawFootage, 12/04/13]

House Republican Budget Would End the Medicare Guarantee While Giving Tax Breaks to Millionaires. In 2013, House Republicans voted for an extreme budget for fiscal year 2014 that would end the Medicare guarantee – by converting the program into voucher-based system – and pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans on the backs of working families. The AARP said that the budget “fails to address the high costs of health care and instead shifts costs onto seniors and future retirees. Removing the Medicare guarantee of affordable health coverage seniors have continued to through a lifetime of hard work is not the answer.” According to an analysis of the Ryan Budget conducted by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “If policymakers enacted the same extremely ambitious reductions in tax expenditures for filers with incomes above $200,000 that TPC assumed when it analyzed Romney’s tax plan, filers with incomes of $1 million or more would lose tax breaks totaling about $90,000 on average — still leaving them with an average net tax cut of about $245,000. Households with incomes above $200,000 would get a net cut of about $16,000.” The bill passed, 221-207. [HCR 25, Vote #88, 3/21/13; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/17/13; AARP, 3/12/13]